COUNTRY JOE & THE FISH I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin-to-Die UK

	£		61
	$		81

Hi, I am Mike, now 51. Old enough to remember the golden era of original, high quality music, bands, artists.

Also records from the 1960s and 70s bought from the shops from new, I have been a music collector and enthusiast for over 37 years now. We all wish we could turn back the clock and buy those wonderful brand new records from the 60s and 70s, but alas, this is not possible; so I always try to offer the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. No vinyl/music lover really would choose to buy second-hand, but this is only way now to own these valuable, prized and elusive items now. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, not just bits to guess a grade - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested reader – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean its good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee one hundred percent is exact colour matching for covers - this depends on the lighting at the time and that is out of my control, but I feel sure most items will be very close to the actual real item. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortofon Samba Moving Coil cartridge (tracks at 1.8 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

POSTING & PACKING: What You Get: I post all my UK items on FRIDAY every week, most will arrive Saturday to make signed-for delivery easier. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT mailers) with the record(s) REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with TWO massively thick stiffners for even extra protection and bubble wrap if deemed necessary. These stiffners are the thickest possible and custom supplied for ‘Oneadayrecords’ – these are NOT commercially available and you will not have seen thicker protection anywhere. The cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW heavy duty soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my Moth Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. Printed address labels are used as well as ‘Fragile’ tape for that extra professional touch for the packet. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but NOT surface mail abroad. I never make profit on posting and offer probably the cheapest and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends, with the total costs including ‘standard’ or ‘optional extra insurance’ P&P – ALL UK and Russian packets go out non-negotiable Recorded Delivery. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 3,500+ items sold in over 5 years of Ebay trading (I am now one of most established sellers via Ebay) and I consider that pretty exceptional.

PLEASE NOTE: I will now only send packets to Russia with Recorded Delivery at a cost of £7 per single LP. If this is unacceptable to Russian collectors, please do not bid. I only want my records to arrive safely and this gives packets a better chance to do so. Also ALL UK packets will be sent with either Recorded or Special Delivery as standard (both have to be signed for). All shipping costs and rules can be found after my description. If they are not acceptable, please do not bid.

Album Title: I-Feel-Like-I’m Fixin’-to-Die.

Producer(s): Samuel Charters.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: The Fish Cheer & I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin;-to-Die Rag; Who Am I; Pat’s Song; Rock Coast Blues; Magoo.

Side 2: Janis; Thought Dream; Thursday; Eastern Jam; Colors for Susan.

Label/Format: Fontana – Original matt black and silver format with a slightly less than smooth finish to the fingertips. Side two have the embossed ‘K T’ tax codes and both are immaculate as new. (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both look fantastic: very clean and highly attractive with only light, fine and faint spindle marks and no wear around the hole area.

Cat Number: TFL 6087.

Mode / Speed: Mono / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 141 grams. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 140 to 150 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 20 records from these eras. Later pressings were usually lighter still).

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Moderately rare: UK original copies of this album would have only sold in small numbers and the lesser played, clean mono copies are seldom seen or offered. More often offered as ‘original’ on Vanguard, a common mistake simply because the Fontana copies are so elusive.

Original Year of Release: 1967

Matrix Nos: 6087 1L 2 420 / 6087 2L 1 420

Musicians: Bruce Barthol – bass, harmonica; Barry Melton – vocals, guitar; Joe McDonald – vocals, guitar, bells, tambourine; Chicken Hirsch – drums, bells; David Cohen – guitar, 12-string guitar, organ.

Brief Info: Gimme an F, Gimme an I, Gimme an S, Gimme an H – What’s that spell? – the classic opening lines of this uncompromising but beautiful album. The famous ‘Fish Chant’ which was later infamously changed for the then more radical ‘F’ word later at the festivals. For me, an even better follow-up to the superb debut album Electric Music…, and more electric psychedelic music with very stark and dark messages within it’s songs – these two genuine classics defined the genre ‘acid-rock’. An album of haunting and captivating melodies with some sharp and satirical lyrics. None more so than the title track, that since issue, rarely sounded more relevant than it does today. Deepest black-humour with its catchy rag-time riff, a dark and bleak protest song against the Vietnam war that still holds strong and its message is there for all to hear some forty years on. The gun-fire and explosions at the song’s end have excellent mono punch with uncanny realism that really chills. There is more brilliant guitar-work from Melton and haunting organ sounds with superb vocals by McDonald himself, still one of the most underrated singers of this heady era. ‘Who Am I’ still sends a shiver down my spine, surely one of the finest vocal moments from this classic set – this album has it all. The delicate ‘Magoo’ with its ‘Stay as you are’ chorus with its thunderous bangs blended with fragile psych guitar sounds, a really beautiful song again with sinister dark overtones. It also includes McDonald’s poignant tribute to ‘Janis’ (Joplin), another classic track, just another within the 10 on this amazing album. Yet another pioneering work and highly important issue within this monumental year in popular music but… it failed to sell at all well in the UK and did not even chart hence its rarity as a first Fontana issue. Few bothered, and those who did mostly bought the mono version, and most seen are in terrible conditions, victims of the Dansette era of blunt needles and massive tracking weights. For those who did dip into their pockets for this one, well they were the lucky ones, this is a spellbinding experience and still sounds fantastic today. Like several US bands in the UK at this time, the packaging was not always the best but this cover was much better than the first album with its laminated front and massive rear flipback construction. I still feel this wonderful band, especially the early two or three albums, are still under-appreciated outside the US which is a shame. For those still not familiar with McDonald’s early works with The Fish, this is a truly essential album and is one of the genuine classics from the greatest year in music. An album that dared to speak out against that disastrous and terrible conflict back in the mid-60s and fears of wider conflicts and H-bombs – McDonald may have instilled a tongue-in-check humour within his songs, but the messages were more than clear and still have a chilling, stark edge. Over time, I have found Fontana records to be a little variable in pressing quality. This copy is one of the cleanest and least marked I have ever seen. The sound itself is superb but the pressing does have some inherent surface sound, only really noticeable on a few of the quieter passages, mostly on side two. This has nothing to do with static or groovewear of which there is none, simply a mild surface sound within the pressing. Being honest, this did not distract my attention from the quality of the music which is sublime throughout but audiophiles and sound purists may not approve so obviously I have to make this clear. Looking at the record obviously gives no clues to this relatively minor surface sound hence the vital importance of a play-grade which I always do on my long-players. Being present on such a superb looking example tells me it’s likely to be present on all copies of this era but as this is the only one I have in stock, I cannot readily compare. Anyway, this is still a wonderful record and I feel confident it will please many collectors if not the perfectionists.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: High: [Unlaminated covers are always the most vulnerable for rubbing, fading, sticker tears and ringwear, gatefolds are more prone still and the darker they are, the more this type of wear occurs and shows. Some sleeves have a textured finish or die-cut shaped edges or ‘windows’. These are even more delicate and the hardest to find in top condition. Fully laminated covers are more resistent to wear but often the laminate ages with dulling, creases and blistering. Many 60s covers have outer flipback construction, these are very vulnerable to damage]. (US covers are the most fragile of all, very rarely laminated and made with thick brittle card that rubs and ringwears badly. Seams and edges split easily). Please see format below to access this cover’s potential for wear and damage.

Cover Grade and Format: EX with little wear and few blemishes and looking very strong and attractive overall. A single format with a laminated front, the rear has three large flipbacks (the spine one is enormous). This has the original ‘WARNING—Copyright subsists in all Fontana recordings’ text. This is a UK made cover.

Cover Front: One of the greatest covers of this period, five guys totally whacked out and looking just plain weird – The Fish way of putting up two fingers to war. This UK laminated front looks fantastic and grades more EX++. This has little real wear at all and does this landmark artwork full justice. The laminate is rock solid with no peeling, dry area blistering, cracking or mottling and remains crystal clear too with few traces of any dulling or friction rubs. Minimal creasing too with any present light and few. This laminate has hardly any surface marks or indentations, again any present are ultra faint and fine and only just show with angled viewing, a very fine shine is retained too. This is over forty years old, that is a great age for any LP cover, this front defies this age and looks superb. This famous artwork will seldom be found better with ‘Fontana ‘TFL 6087’ mono included on it.

Cover Back: Obviously more vulnerable than the protected front but this has more than stood the test of time. The main back panel has just a crease to the top left edge area with little visibility and no rubbing or ringwear. Very clean too with no toning or yellowing and any grubbiness is miniscule. The delicate and vulnerable flipbacks are all fine with just a couple of minor blemishes. All still stuck down fast and looking very neat with practically no ‘grime-line’ formation on their ends. The bottom one has a small end rub near half way along and similar to the right corner area top and bottom. I reitterate these blemishes are tiny and the lack of tearing or other damages is fairly unusual. So a quality back to complement a superb front, this rare, vintage, UK cover sets a high standard.

Top Edge: Practically wear-free.

Bottom Edge: Similar again, odd minor surface rub if being critical.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean and quite sharp with little wear, no feathering. Record entered on this right edge.

Spine and Text: A very fine spine overall. Fairly thin, quite straight with only very mild compression and shows little real wear at all bar light rub traces near the ends. All text is pristine under the solid laminate. Close examination reveals a tiny central split has been neatly repaired

Corners: Tip rubbing is the least anyone could expect on a cover like this but all is light and they retain fine shape and solid definition.

Cover Summary: UK Fontana originals of this title are elusive, with so few sold initially. This could prove quite hard to find significantly better. This time, with front lamination, this usually fared better than the debut, I would guess most US examples would look a real mess these days and its a real pleasure to be able to offer this famous old cover looking this good. This very attractive item should please many collectors.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EX+ and with those few found mostly looking in very poor conditions this example is exceptional given it’s mono too. A few light hairlines can be seen under light but no marks of any significance that would affect sound. The playing surfaces are shiny and clean and retain an intense black finish. A very fine visual copy that is heavily pressed too, little beats the joy of holding a genuine original, most found on are Vanguard and there is nothing wrong with them but this is the genuine article. Given all the facts about its era and and the perils of being played on unsympathetic equipment with heavy, worn pickups etc, etc, etc… (stated it many times before) this record is in beautiful visual and playing condition and finding this title better as an original will prove difficult. Visually, a record that should please most collectors.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippetts or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: I state immediately at the start of this paragraph and reitterate what I have mentioned already, this record does have some fairly light surface sound within the pressing. Most is obscured by the music but was noticeable in places, most on the very quiet sections of side two. Not a sound that particularly bothered me, it’s not crackle, just a light pressing ‘sound’. Musically, strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and detailed sound – this is a better recording than the debut album and sounds perfect for its time. I noted no pops or clicks and music throughout if focused and precise. Both channels are clean and sharp, and I feel certain this has been played very few times. Being totally honest, little spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record, it could be argued a little mild surface sound actually enhances the feel and age of this record but that’s a subjective opinion. Many listeners do not always wish for clinical pure sound from old analogue records and any level of extraneous sounds will depend on the equipment it will be played on. Mono records of this vintage were not really designed to be played on modern stereo systems, that said, they still sound magnificent. When played on the record players they were mainly designed for, any surface sounds will be virtually lost, of that I am certain. A Linn LP12 will bring out incredible details whether they be good or bad, wanted or unwanted, so you take your choice. If you have any doubts, please do not bid, I cannot say fairer. This copy could still prove difficult to find significantly better and I truly found this a thrilling experience to listen too. I have loved this album since the early 70s and continue to do so today, I can warmly recommend this copy.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

SHIPPING COSTS & OPTIONS:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (First Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4 (OPTIONAL).

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA (NOT RUSSIA, see below) (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £5.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £9 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: RUSSIA (Recorded Only, if this is unacceptable, please do not bid):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ only £7) = £9 (OPTIONAL extra insurance as above).

Posting & Packing: OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. US; Australia; Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £8.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £13 (OPTIONAL).

* If Rules allow for that country.

PLEASE NOTE: I always get a Royal Mail ‘Proof-of-Posting’ receipt for ALL packets that are sent out and I am happy to prove this to any customer who wishes to see it via email.

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders.

The customer can choose their method of shipping with the exception of second class or surface mail overseas – these I will NOT use. The winner bidder chooses his/her posting method and if uninsured is chosen, its their decision and they have to stick with it, I can accept no responsibility if an item is lost in the post. I can only try to claim at standard levels if no enhancement is chosen (£35).

Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. A maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT neccessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, actually a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.

The Argument for Vinyl Original sound and mix (mono mixes are rarely available on CD), high quality sound on clean copies (played on a hi-end dedicated analogue system – breathtaking sound!), beautiful, large format covers, artwork, inserts and even full size posters etc; huge investment potential, and the pleasure of owning ‘the real thing’.